New energy cars drive China towards a green future

China's new energy vehicle market has recorded another year of rapid growth, as the government continues to encourage the development of green transportation.

And government is continuing to push this development further through the use of national policies to coordinate the development of the industry.

New energy vehicles, or NEVs, are vehicles powered by batteries, hybrid engines, or fuel-cells.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's NEV output jumped by more than 50 percent to nearly 800,000 units in 2017.

Sharing new energy cars are launched in Guiyang, Guizhou Province on Mar 16, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

China's stock of NEV is also the world's largest, with 1.53 million sold by the end of last year.

Wang Mengyin works at an NEV retailer in Beijing, where he has witnessed the growth in the sector over the last few years.

"The development of electric cars is happening very fast in our country. Progress is made every year. For example, in 2016 a model of Geely electric car could run for 253 kilometers on a full charge. In 2017, the new model could reach 300 kilometers per charge. In 2018, the latest one can go up to 450 kilometers per charge."

In December, the central government committed to make NEVs purchase tax exempt for the next three years.

The move extends the existing tax waiver that was rolled out in 2014 as part of government efforts to reduce emissions.

It's estimated that by 2025, up to 1-in-5 vehicles in China are expected to be new energy powered.

Zhu Huarong is a deputy of this year's National People's Congress, the NPC. He is also the CEO of Chang'an Auto, one of China's "Big Four" car makers. He says the country is already among the world's leading manufacturers of NEVs.

"There has been substantial development in the field of new energy vehicles. China already leads the world in terms of the quantity of New Energy Vehicles. When it comes to the application of technology, we are on the same level as other countries, and in some areas we are even in the lead, for instance in the construction of NEV chargers, parking lots, systems for adapting to high and low temperatures, batteries, and electric motors. "

NPC deputy Zhu Huarong attends the meeting of Chongqing delegation during the two sessions in Beijing on Mar 14, 2018. [Photo: China Plus/Yang Guang]

A national center for NEV development was recently opened in Beijing help coordinate the development of the industry.

China's leading NEV manufacturers like Geely and BYD, and researchers from Baidu and Tsinghua University are some of the partners of the new center.

Zhu Huarong says that as the NEV industry matures, China's auto makers can rise to the challenge of competing with foreign counterparts.

"New Energy Vehicles provide an opportunity for enterprises to transform and upgrade their business. In traditional car making, China's enterprises trail behind some first-class auto makers, because they have been developing over a long time and we are late-comers. But in the area of new energy cars, we could surpass these enterprises or at least keep up with them."

Batteries are at the core of NEV performance because they determine the distance a car can run and its overall functioning.

NPC deputy Zhang Tianren is the CEO of Tianneng Energy Group, a leading battery manufacturing company in China.

NPC deputy Zhang Tianren speaks to the CRI reporter during the two sessions in Beijing on Mar 13, 2018. [Photo: China Plus/Yang Guang]

He says China has developed its own battery industry to support the NEV sector.

"The battery industry in China has been developing for a long time. It has a mature industrial chain from the processing of raw materials, to manufacturing, and eventual recycling. Our development is in line with the trend towards green manufacturing and environmental protection. Some of the batteries are specially designed for electric vehicles. In the future, engines powered by petrol, or diesel, or gas will be replaced with electric motors that will drive our cars, trucks, and tractors."

Zhang adds that if batteries in China utilize renewable energy like solar and wind power, they will benefit the NEV industry even more.